My professor tossed me a plastic wrapped, golden Hostess treat–Yes, a Twinkie. Didn’t they stop making these? I was careful to not squeeze too hard when I caught the flung junk food. The transparent plastic lining was covered with 6 or 7 red logos that said Hostess on it, with a little red heart above the O. As I scanned the famous food, I could see the creme filling leaking out through the bottom of Twinkie.

When I opened the plastic wrapper, hearing the crinkling that signified I was about to feel bloated for the next hour, the smell of sponge cake and whipped cream filled my nostrils. The cake part of the roughly 4-inch long Twinkie was sticky, almost to the point where I wished I did’t grab it so hard. I pulled my fingers off and there was a little part of the Twinkie stuck to my finger. I licked it off, and proceeded to take a bite.

It reminded me of every delicious Hostess or Little Debbie treat that I had when I was ten and chubbier than most other kids. I could feel the sugary creme and sponge cake slide down my throat.It definitely tasted better eleven years ago.

To John Dodge, lead singer, guitarist, and songwriter for Don Juan, one doesn’t have to live in Hollywood or be filthy rich to make it big time in the music industry.

Last summer, Don Juan did a show with Jackson Browne and James Taylor in New York at a popular club. “James had been a fan for awhile and Jackson Browne turned into a real solid supporter,” said Dodge, whose band will start recording this Spring.

He went on to spread his excitement with his electric smile while describing the start of the recording process. “There will be a product on the streets–on the airwaves, we hope–by the end of the summer.”

Don Cooper, guitarist and singer for the band, discussed the struggle of finally realizing his calling.

“It took a long time to shuck the robe of responsibility. I fought it for years, saying, ‘Well, I love to write song, and I love to play guitar… but I don’t think I can make a living doing it.”

Cooper had the plan of becoming an English teacher “just in case” his music career didn’t pan out.

“I held on to this myth for a long time–that I could actually approach something involving my life with a just-in-case attitude–That I would settle for something less than happy,” said Cooper, whose eyes lit up with satisfaction.

Don’t be surprised to see Don Juan’s name more often in the mainstream, folks.

Mary Krejci, who is apart of the Student Life staff at Morningside College, told me today one one of her biggest pet peeves–what really grinds her gears.

When I first proposed the question, the first thing she said was a confused “Seriously?” After I told her I was honestly curious, she started to have some fun while thinking about it. She admitted that what makes her go home and “gripe to her husband” the most is when people get upset about things that “don’t really matter.”

This week, a WGN television station based out of Chicago had a 20-second segment on Yom Kippur, a Jewish holiday. The news station used a symbol with a background that Nazi soldiers used to identify jews. It was an honest mistake. A very unfortunate, but honest mistake. My biggest problem here, however, is the statement that the news station made after the broadcast ended. The station said “Ignorance is NOT an excuse.” How is it not an excuse? The story was more than likely put together by someone not terribly familiar with Nazi propaganda–you know, like the rest of us. Anybody could have made that honest mistake. Ignorance IS an excuse.

Some survivors from the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001 became local, and for even fewer, national celebrities for their admirable and harrowing stories of escape. One man in particular, Steve Rannazzisi, claimed he not only survived the collapsing buildings, but used it as motivation to live life to the fullest by becoming a popular comedian and television actor. The only problem is, Rannazzisi was never in the World Trade Center on that day. On September 16th, after the New York Times came to Rannazzisi with evidence undermining his stores, The League television show star and comedy central stand-up comedian acknowledged that he had been lying for years.

For the past decade or so, Rannazzisi had described his “experience” during the attacks in several interviews. Most notably, during an interview on WTF with Marc Maron he described how he was in the 54th Floor of the South Tower working for Merrill Lynch when the first place struck the north tower. After running downstairs and out of the building, he watched the tower he was just in get hit. He proceeded to run away as fast he could and never looked back.

Unfortunately for Rannazzisi and his fans, the New York Times unveiled evidence that Rannazzisi never worked for Merrill Lynch—in fact, Merrill Lynch didn’t even have offices in either tower of the World Trade Center when the attacks occurred.

“I was not at the World Trade Center that day,” Rannazzisi said in a statement given to the New York Times by his publicist. “I don’t know why I said this. This was inexcusable. I am truly, truly sorry.”

An up and coming star in the comedy world, Rannazzisi has been a lead in the hit FXX show The League since 2009. He has also been the spokesperson for the Buffalo Wild Wings since March of 2015. However, the day after Rannazzisi came clean about his lies, it was reported that the restaurant chain had dropped him as their spokesperson.

“Upon careful review, we have decided to discontinue airing our current television commercials featuring Steve Rannazzisi,” the company said in a quote given by cnn.com.

Despite Buffalo Wild Wings’ decision to discontinue talks with Rannazzisi, Comedy Central aired his brand new stand-up comedy central on September 19th. Also, FXX has decided to keep the actor on The League, according to the New York Times, mainly because the show is currently filming their last season. This probably brings some solace to the actor, considering he is now one of the most controversial comedians in the business.

This controversy has caused public backlash from thousands of people, including celebrities, on social media outlets such as Twitter and Facebook. Saturday Night Live star Pete Davidson, whose firefighter father died in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, initially was angry with Rannazzisi, tweeting a sarcastic apology then telling him that he can’t wait to have lunch with his dad. However, Davidson later apologized, and, according to People Magazine’s website, told equally frustrated fans to “take it easy” and that he is a fan of Rannazzisi and his show.

On Monday, firefighters responded to a call concerning a cat that was stuck in a tree. The cat, belonging to Suzanne and Samantha Decker, was stuck in an oak tree at 102 11th street in the early afternoon.

Once the fire department arrived, Bob Harwood heroically climbed the tree almost 50 feet up to retrieve the cat. On his way down, a dead tree limb snapped, causing Harwood to fall the last 15 feet with no support. He is at a local hospital with a broken leg. The cat is doing “just fine.

Fire Alarms Cause Suspension for 10 Students

Northeast High School principal Laura Vibelius reported Wednesday that she has suspended ten students in the wake of a fire-alarm-pulling incident. According to Vibelius, the school’s fire alarms went off on three different occasions throughout the day Wednesday. Once the students were caught, they explained their motive was to protest a Monday suspension of 5 other students that were caught smoking marijuana on school grounds.

“Not so much unrest because of the suspensions, but because of the summer vacation being so near,” explained Vibelius.

She sees no continuation of these “incidents” in the near future.

Turned Texaco Truck Causes Evacuation

On Monday, firefighters responded to reports of an overturned Texaco gasoline truck on the outskirts of town. The accident occurred on 48th Street and Correctionville Road just outside of Sioux City.

The spewing gas from the turned truck caused sewer lines to flood with gas for two blocks around the accident site, causing four families to evacuate their homes. For two hours, the situation was fairly serious until the gas floods eventually washed away.

“The firemen followed catastrophe and hazmat procedures set up beforehand for such an occurrence,” said Fire Chief Charles Hochandel.

A two car collision on Hwy. 20 yesterday morning has killed a 65 year old South Sioux City man, according to the Woodbury County Sheriff’s Office.

Moyer Quick was driving two miles east of Sioux City when he merged lanes too soon and collided with Randy Radin, 17, and sent them both into a ditch, says Iowa Highway Patrolman Patric Stewart.

An autopsy on Quick revealed that he had a heart attack just before the accident, more than likely causing it.

Dorothy Quick, his wife, and her sister, Maxine Steuerwald, were in Quick’s vehicle when the accident occurred. Dorothy has recently been released form the hospital, and Steuerwald is scheduled to be released soon.

Radin, of Sioux City, is also being treated at a nearby hospital, and is listed as being in “critical” condition.

This week, I discovered an opinion piece that the New York Times posted in its Thursday web edition. The author said that racism was never established as an institution in the United States under any official governmental document—including the constitution. That’s completely accurate. However, the author argues that slavery was never an institution in the United States, period. I disagree.

I view the slave trade in the 18th and 19th century as similar to drug trades that take place today. No, they have no official representation in any political or social aspect. But, they are an “organization” that makes money. The slave trade was just that. Racist, slave-owning aristocrats demanded the work of those they deemed inferior to themselves—Africans. They spent money at auctions. Then, they never paid the workers. Their only expense was buying the slaves while they sold whatever cash crop they grew to maximize profit. It was never an institution on paper. But it was an institution nevertheless.

(DES MOINES)– On Wednesday, the Iowa Highway Patrol ordered the banning of hand-held radar guns for Iowa police officers. This comes after concern that longtime exposure to radar gun radiation may cause cancer. Two months ago, three officers from Cedar Rapids filed workman’s compensation claims, disputing that they developed cancer from the use of radar guns. “The feeling here is to err on the side of caution while more is known about the issue,” said Adam Berluti, spokesman for the Iowa Highway Patrol. There are studies being conducted into possible links between cancer and radar guns. State Troopers will continue to use radar units mounted on the outside of their cruisers.

Three police officers just interrupted the class I was a part of in order to ask me about a friend of mine who they are currently looking for. My apartment-mate Dave is supposedly wanted in the State of Iowa. They asked me for some details about what he was wearing today. I told them he is wearing teal khaki/cargo shorts, a black v-neck t-shirt, and white shoes with no visible sock line. His long brown hair grew out of his blue, green, and black snapback hat. That’s all the information I could give the police at that time.